A pub at the centre of a row has closed for business after its collection of golly dolls was seized by police on April 4.
Five Essex Police officers removed what were deemed to be offensive dolls from The White Hart Inn in Grays. The pub was subsequently vandalised and removed from the Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA) Good Beer Guide.
Landlady Benice Ryley told Thurrock Nub News that Carlsberg and Heineken had told the pub to stop selling their products, and Innserve had refused to attend the premises.
“It hurts. I’ve had 17 years of my life here, if people didn’t like it they didn’t have to come through my door,” she told the publication.
“I feel gutted. Totally and utterly gutted. This is my life now that they’ve ruined because we’ve got a stigma with our name now and the pub,” she said.
Mrs Ryley said the collection of about 30 dolls were donated by her late aunt and from customers and had been in the pub for nearly 10 years.
CAMRA national chairman Nik Antona said in a statement:
“Following the announcement that the White Hart in Greys, Essex, has closed, CAMRA now hopes this heritage venue is preserved as a pub and will provide a warm welcome to all. We believe pubs are for everyone – there is never a place for discrimination.
“Previous Pub of the Year awards were removed due to displays which went against the Campaign’s agreed national policies and values. The White Hart has also been removed from the current Good Beer Guide.
“CAMRA has an agreed policy that none of its 220 branches across the UK should grant awards to a pub which displays or promotes discriminatory items or materials, either in the venue or on social media accounts. ”
He added that CAMRA would remove awards from any pubs, clubs, cider producers or breweries which operated “at odds with our values”.
An Essex Police spokesperson said: “At this stage our investigation is still ongoing.”
